An impressive range of contemporary art — from a real-time clock to tactile landscapes from an
up-and-coming West Coast artist — were among the irresistible offerings in central Ohio visual
art.

Freelance reviewers Melissa Starker, Elizabeth Trapp and Christopher A. Yates contributed to
this roundup of the best exhibits of 2013, listed alphabetically:

“Blues for Smoke,” Wexner Center for the Arts: An over-the-top multisensory
experience bringing together music, video, installation and visual art, the exhibit examined the
notion that the blues is the foundation and catalyst for contemporary art — a global creative
force.
— Christopher A. Yates

“Christian Marclay: The Clock,” Wexner Center for the Arts: It’s likely that few
people in central Ohio were able to view all 24 hours of Marclay’s time-synced cinematic mash-up.
But those who saw any of it probably found it hard to break away. A combination of exhaustive,
individual creative rigor and familiar pop-culture imagery, “The Clock” was spellbinding in its
meticulousness and incisive in its illustration of how individual memories and connections inform
one’s response to art.
— Melissa Starker

“Cuban Forever,” the Pizzuti Collection: A promising inaugural show for the city’s
newest art institution, “Cuban Forever” offers a captivating view of artists exploring national
identity and developing ways to communicate critical ideas in a political environment for which the
more direct route might have repercussions.
— M.S.

“George Bellows and the American Experience,” Columbus Museum of Art: Bellows’
paintings and prints record the dawn of the American century. Featuring more than 35 paintings and
a large number of lithographic prints, the show is thorough and revealing. Viewers come to
understand Bellows’ passionate desire to know, feel and experience everything.
— C.A.Y.

“Joseph O’Sickey: Unifying Art, Life, and Love,” Decorative Arts Center of Ohio:
The exhibition, which opened shortly after O’Sickey’s death, gave a passionate depiction of the
painter’s life. More than 70 lively, brightly colored paintings illustrated a most prolific
career.
— Elizabeth Trapp

“Mark Rothko: The Decisive Decade 1940-1950,” Columbus Museum of Art: The abstract
expressionist pushed the boundaries of the modernist ideal. With simple geometric patterns and
color combinations that seem to pulse and vibrate, his work is a physical manifestation of the
sublime. Examining a 10-year period during which Rothko found his voice, the exhibit proved
illuminating.
— C.A.Y.

“My Crippled Friend,” Canzani Center Gallery, Columbus College of Art &
Design: The exhibit defiantly challenges traditional ideas of what separates paintings from
sculpture with contemporary works that use common materials to uncommon ends. Among them is one of
the most awe-inspiring installations of the year:
Painting Is Fun, a Todd Brandt mosaic of paint and 19,000 creamer cups.
— M.S.

“Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors,” Gund Gallery, Kenyon College: A mix of poetry,
music, theater and sculpture, the nine-screen video installation by the Icelandic performance
artist is seductive and beautiful. A bohemian romanticism permeates the piece — embracing the union
of the collective with the individual, the past with the present and the masculine with the
feminine.
— C.A.Y.

“sticky/dusty/wet,” Columbus Museum of Art: Contemporary photographer Matthew
Brandt has his first solo museum exhibition in Columbus. His process-based, tactile landscapes and
cityscapes with their psychedelic palettes are electrifying.
— E.T.